Cycling books

FocusZing

In a

FocusZing

Day!

nickice

FocusZing wrote:

"Endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont has announced plans to go around the world in 80 days on his bike, which would involve smashing the current record.
To be successful, the Scot will have to complete the 18,000 mile route in less than half the time he took when he set the record nine years ago.
He will also have to knock more than 40 days off the current world record.
Beaumont, 34, will begin his trek on 2 July and will have to travel 240 miles a day to get around the world on time."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39479386

240 miles a day!

I saw this reported today. 16-hour days for 80 days! I can't see him managing this but best of luck to him (even though I always felt he didn't come across that well in his book about going round the World)

FocusZing

Ultra-endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont has completed his last big training ride before the start of his attempt to ride around the world in 80 days.

He rode 400km (250 miles) in 15 hours from Tayinloan on the west coast of Scotland to Aberdeen on the east, and had a photographer recording his efforts.

Beaumont sets off from Paris on 2nd July attempting to recapture the record for cycling around the world, currently 123 days, set by New Zealander Andrew Nicholson in 2015.

He’d previously held the record when he cycled solo around the world in 194 days in 2008.

'Back then it was done "wild man"-style, with me foraging for food and looking for a safe place to sleep every night,' he says.

'But this time it’s all about the performance, so I’ll be on a carbon frame with no panniers and have a team of six in two support vehicles looking after me.' (Guinness World Records makes no distinction between supported and unsupported rides.)

This training ride saw Beaumont hit the magical numbers that will ensure he makes his 80-day target – cycling more than 240 miles at an average speed of more than 16 mph.

http://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/3021/mark ... -challenge

Incredible challenge.

cygnet

FocusZing wrote:

http://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/3021/mark ... -challenge

Incredible challenge.

How about Amanda Coker then:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yhpHlN3KGsLjc9hR0y75J2arZJChWNyiG8JcUINqs20/edit#gid=0

FocusZing

No question that's damn impressive!

bobmcstuff

cygnet wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

http://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/3021/mark ... -challenge

Incredible challenge.

How about Amanda Coker then:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yhpHlN3KGsLjc9hR0y75J2arZJChWNyiG8JcUINqs20/edit#gid=0

Coker's doing a lot of hers on a recumbent on a loop. Still impressive physically but not really the same in terms of the other challenges of being on the road etc.

FocusZing

Ultra-endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont is set to reclaim the world record for circumnavigating the globe one day ahead of schedule. The adventurer is due to arrive in Paris today, finishing his “round the world in 80 days” challenge on Day 79.

His Artemis World Cycle covers 18,000 miles, which means the Scot has had to complete 240 miles a day – spending 16 hours in the saddle – to stay on schedule.

Speaking yesterday morning, he said: “The plan today if I do a normal 240-odd miler is it leaves about 180 miles to finish off tomorrow, so we will see how that goes".

http://www.scotsman.com/news/mark-beaum ... -1-4562809

One of those achievements which is so incredible it's difficult to comprehend.

twotyred

Agreed. I've never cycled 200 miles in a day let alone 240 day after day and all on 5 hours sleep a night if he's lucky.

FocusZing

Yeah. I would feel tried driving 240 miles in a day.

Bo Duke

Amazing.... looks like a TT bike... 240 miles a day would suit Froome.......

FocusZing

78 days, 14 hours & 40 Minutes!

iainf72

I am reading this at the moment

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draft-Animals- ... hil+gaimon

Quite enjoyable. I'm sure quite a few people won't like it. His description of Jens Voigt slayed me, as that's exactly how I feel he'd be in real life.

Lanterne_Rogue

iainf72 wrote:

I am reading this at the moment

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draft-Animals- ... hil+gaimon

Quite enjoyable. I'm sure quite a few people won't like it. His description of Jens Voigt slayed me, as that's exactly how I feel he'd be in real life.

There was an article on here with him that actually had me checking quite a few places to ensure he wasn't a spoof. Is the book as amusing as he comes across elsewhere?

timoid.

iainf72 wrote:

I am reading this at the moment

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draft-Animals- ... hil+gaimon

Quite enjoyable. I'm sure quite a few people won't like it. His description of Jens Voigt slayed me, as that's exactly how I feel he'd be in real life.

Seeing as you're not exactly Jens' greatest fan, what does he say about him?

iainf72

Timoid. wrote:

Seeing as you're not exactly Jens' greatest fan, what does he say about him?

Just described how he told a joke (bad joke), then proceeded to explain the joke. Also said he wasn't massively popular in Europe.

When he talks about Sagan he mentions the podium girl thing. Then sounds all right on social-justice about it for a second. And then undoes it all in the next sentence.

mbrundrett

I really enjoyed The Race Against the Stasi - Herbie Sykes for it's blend of the perception of history and the cycling side.

Also worth a read (not mentioned so far - I think)

Sex lies and Handlebar tape
Its all about the bike
We were young and carefree
and
The Shattered Peloton

timoid.

Just finished Whittle's Ventoux. Patchy. Strong in places, but a bit of a mid-life crisis memoir imho.

Not one for casual fans as he doesn't fill in all the blanks, so a reasonable knowledge of cycling / Tour history and riders required.

RichN95.

Timoid. wrote:

Just finished Whittle's Ventoux. Patchy. Strong in places, but a bit of a mid-life crisis memoir imho.

Not one for casual fans as he doesn't fill in all the blanks, so a reasonable knowledge of cycling / Tour history and riders required.

Does he tell us how suspicious he is about doping? Are there any pages where he doesn't?

timoid.

RichN95 wrote:

Timoid. wrote:

Just finished Whittle's Ventoux. Patchy. Strong in places, but a bit of a mid-life crisis memoir imho.

Not one for casual fans as he doesn't fill in all the blanks, so a reasonable knowledge of cycling / Tour history and riders required.

Does he tell us how suspicious he is about doping? Are there any pages where he doesn't?

More disillusioned than suspicious. He hasn't gone full Kimmage.

I know he has previous with Sky, but it formed part of the narrative, rather than dominated it.

Richmond Racer 2

Whittle's mid-life crisis has now entered its 14th year

iainf72

iainf72 wrote:

When he talks about Sagan he mentions the podium girl thing. Then sounds all right on social-justice about it for a second. And then undoes it all in the next sentence.

It continues with form.

Saying people were crap when they stopped taking EPO. Even though they've never been done for EPO.

Also, who knew that pro-cyclists like chewing tobacco so much *shrug*

davidof

Currently reading Robic 47 - a biography of Jean Robic but written as if Robic were recounting his life. It has a lot of factoids about long forgotten cyclists.

Just read the chapter about Robic and his Aunts escape from Paris in 1940 ahead of the advancing Germans. Quite an adventure. 500km in 4 days - the aunt should have turned pro!

https://www.amazon.fr/Robic-47-Christia ... ewpoints=1

socrates

Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape. Jacques Anquetille.
The Eagle of Toledo. Frederico Bahamotes.

rdt

Excellent (useful!) thread. Read plenty of those mentioned; there's so many good ones it's tricky to pick out favourites, but I found Jean Bobet's "Tomorrow, We Ride" really a bit special.

I always seem to buy my cycling books around this time of the year in an attempt the sustain the "high", so just ordered the following dozen!:

The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold
Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape
The Death of Marco Pantani
The Secret Race
We Were Young and Carefree
Etape: The Untold Stories of the Tour De France's Defining Stages
It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels
Higher Calling: Road Cycling's Obsession with the Mountains
A Dog in a Hat
In Pursuit of Stardom
Draft Animals
Discovery Road

Thanks for the suggestions.

DeVlaeminck

rdt wrote:

Excellent (useful!) thread. Read plenty of those mentioned; there's so many good ones it's tricky to pick out favourites, but I found Jean Bobet's "Tomorrow, We Ride" really a bit special.

I always seem to buy my cycling books around this time of the year in an attempt the sustain the "high", so just ordered the following dozen!:

The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold
Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape
The Death of Marco Pantani
The Secret Race
We Were Young and Carefree
Etape: The Untold Stories of the Tour De France's Defining Stages
It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels
Higher Calling: Road Cycling's Obsession with the Mountains
A Dog in a Hat
In Pursuit of Stardom
Draft Animals
Discovery Road

Thanks for the suggestions.

If you've bought them new I'd return the Pantani one and Dog in a Hat for a refund. Few good ones in there though.

takethehighroad

DeVlaeminck wrote:

rdt wrote:

Excellent (useful!) thread. Read plenty of those mentioned; there's so many good ones it's tricky to pick out favourites, but I found Jean Bobet's "Tomorrow, We Ride" really a bit special.

I always seem to buy my cycling books around this time of the year in an attempt the sustain the "high", so just ordered the following dozen!:

The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold
Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape
The Death of Marco Pantani
The Secret Race
We Were Young and Carefree
Etape: The Untold Stories of the Tour De France's Defining Stages
It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels
Higher Calling: Road Cycling's Obsession with the Mountains
A Dog in a Hat
In Pursuit of Stardom
Draft Animals
Discovery Road

Thanks for the suggestions.

If you've bought them new I'd return the Pantani one and Dog in a Hat for a refund. Few good ones in there though.

I liked the Pantani one, although it did get a bit medical towards the end (art imitating life perhaps?)

rdt

Some second hand, some new. I was wondering what order to begin reading them in - so maybe I'll shift those two towards the end of the queue, get to them sometime next year perhaps

Fancy a topical or uplifting read next, so maybe Fignon's Young & Carefree or the Etape Defining Stages one? Decisions!

DeadCalm

rdt wrote:

Some second hand, some new. I was wondering what order to begin reading them in - so maybe I'll shift those two towards the end of the queue, get to them sometime next year perhaps

Fancy a topical or uplifting read next, so maybe Fignon's Young & Carefree or the Etape Defining Stages one? Decisions!

Really enjoyed Young & Carefree. Not sure I'd describe it as uplifting though.

dabber

I haven't gone through all the previous posts so sorry if already covered.....
But I really enjoyed "Three weeks: Eight seconds - The epic Tour de France of 1989".
Basically the Lemond/Fignon battle but covers a lot more including Delgado.

I bought it real cheap at The Works and wasn't expecting much but got drawn into it.